This blog is a humble effort, in the service of the Lord, to provide glimpses into devotional, spiritual, philosophical, ethical and other literature, mostly in Sanskrit verse, right from the Vedas, Upanishads, Gita, the Epics and Puranas to works of classical poets, hymns and other writings of Acharyas like Sankara and Vedanta Desika and compositions of devotees like Jayadeva, Mooka Kavi, Bhattathiri and Lila Suka.

[The
translations in English are by the disciples of His Divine Grace A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as given in the “Srimad Bhagavatam” published by
the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust]

[Context : Churning of milky ocean by the devas
and asuras, emergence of the terrible poison, kalakuta, from the milky ocean and Lord Siva’s act of
drinking the poison and holding it in his neck to save devas and asurasengaged in churning the ocean]

पीते गरे वृषाङ्केन
प्रीतास्तेऽमरदानवाः।

ममन्थुस्तरसा सिन्धुं
हविर्धानी ततोऽभवत्॥१॥

Upon Lord Siva’s drinking
the poison, both the demigods and the demons, being very pleased, began to
churn the ocean with renewed vigour. AS
a result of this, there appeared a cow known as Surabhi.

तामग्निहोत्रीमृषयो
जगृहुर्ब्रह्मवादिनः।

यज्ञस्य देवयानस्य
मेध्याय हविषे नृप ॥२॥

O King Parikshit, great
sages who were completely aware of the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies took charge
of that surabhi cow, which produced all the yogurt, milk and ghee absolutely
necessary for offering oblations into the fire.
They did this just for the sake of pure ghee, which they wanted for the
performance of sacrifices to elevate themselves to the higher planetary
systems, up to Brahmaloka.

तत उच्चैःश्रवा नाम
हयोऽभूच्चन्द्रपाण्डुरः ।

तस्मिन् बलिः स्पृहां
चक्रे नेन्द्र ईश्वरशिक्षया ॥३॥

Thereafter a horse named
Ucchaishravas, which was as white as the moon, was generated. Bali Maharaja desired to possess this horse,
and Indra, the King of heaven, did not protest, for he had previously been so
advised by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

तत ऐरावतो नाम वारणेन्द्रो
विनिर्गतः।

दन्तैश्चतुर्भिः श्वेताद्रेर्हरन्
भगवतो महिम्॥४॥

As the next result of the
churning, the king of elephants, named Airavata, was generated. This elephant was white, and with its four
tusks it defied the glories of Kailasa Mountain, the glorious abode of Lord
Siva.

ऐरावणादयस्त्वष्टौ
दिग् गजा अभवंस्ततः।

अभ्रमुप्रभृतयोऽष्टौ
च करिण्यस्त्वभवन्नृप॥५॥

Thereafter, O King, there
emerged from the milky ocean eight great elephants, corresponding to the eight
quarters. They were headed by Airavana.
Eight she-elephants, headed by Abhramu, also emerged from the milky ocean.

कौस्तुभाख्यमभूद् रत्नं
पद्मरागो महोदधेः।

तस्मिन् हरिः स्पृहां
चक्रे वक्षोऽलङ्करणे मणौ

ततोऽभवत् पारिजातः
सुरलोकविभूषणम्।

पूरयत्यर्थिनोऽर्थैः
शश्वद् भुवि यया भवान् ॥६॥

Generated thereafter from
the great ocean were the celebrated gems Kautubha-mani and Padmaraga-mani.
Lord Vishnu, to decorate his chest, desired to possess them. Generated next was the parijata tree,
which decorates the celestial planets. O
King, as you fulfil the desires of everyone on this planet, the parijata
fulfils the desires of everyone.

ततश्चाप्सरसो जाता
निष्ककण्ठ्यः सुवाससः।

रमण्यः स्वर्गिणां
वल्गुगतिलीलावलोकनैः॥७॥

Next there appeared the
Apsaras [the celestial dancers]. They were fully decorated with golden
ornaments and lockets and were dressed in fine and attractive clothing. The apsaras by their slow, attractive
movements and playful glances captivate the inhabitants of the heavenly planets.

ततश्चाविरभूत् साक्षाच्छ्री
रमा भगवत्परा।

रञ्जयन्ती दिशः कान्त्या
विद्युत् सौदामनी यथा ॥८॥

Then there appeared
Lakshmi, goddess of fortune, Rama,
absolutely dedicated to the Supreme Lord illuminating the quarters by
her lustre, like flashes of lightning.

तस्यां चक्रुः स्पृहां
सर्वे ससुरासुरमानवाः।

रूपौदार्यवयोवर्णमहिमाक्षिप्तचेतसः
॥९॥

Because of her exquisite
beauty, her bodily features, her youth, her complexion and her glories,
everyone, including the demigods, the demons and the human beings, desired
her. They were attracted because she is
the source of all opulences.

तस्या आसनमानिन्ये
महेन्द्रो महदद्भुतम्।

मूर्तिमत्यः सरिच्छ्रेष्ठा
हेमकुम्भैर्जलं शुचि॥१०॥

The King of heaven, Indra,
brought a suitable sitting place for the goddess of fortune. All the rivers of sacred water, such as the
Ganges and Yamuna, personified themselves, and each of them brought pure water
in golden water pots for mother Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune.

आभिषेचनिका भूमिराहरत्
सकलौषधीः।

गावः पञ्च पवित्राणि
वसन्तो मधुमाधवौ॥११॥

Personified Earth (bhumi)
collected and brought all the herbs needed for intalling the Goddess. The cow
delivered five products, namely milk, yogurt, ghee, urine and cow dung. Spring
personified collected everything produced in spring, during the months of Chaitraand Vaisakha [April and May].

ऋषयः कल्पयाञ्चक्रुरभिषेकं
यथाविधि।

जगुर्भद्राणि गन्धर्वा
नट्यश्च ननृतुर्जगुः ॥१२॥

The great sages performed
the bathing ceremony of the goddess of fortune as directed in the authorized
scriptures, the Gandharvas chanted all-auspicious Vedic mantras, and the
professional women dancers danced and sang authorised songs prescribed in the
Vedas.

मेघा मृदङ्गपणवमुरजानकगोमुखान्।

व्यनादयञ्छङ्खवेणुवीणास्तुमुलनिःस्वनान्॥१३॥

The clouds in personified
form beat various types of drums, known as mridangas,panavas, murajas
and anakas. They also blew conch shells and bugles known as gomukhas
and played flutes and stringed instruments.
The combined sound of these instruments was tumultuous.

ततोऽभिषिषिचुर्देवीं
श्रियं पद्मकरां सतीम् ।

दिगिभाः पूर्णकलशैः
सूक्तवाक्यैर्द्विजेरितैः॥१४॥

Thereafter, the great
elephants from all the directions carried big water jugs full of Ganges water
and bathed the goddess of fortune, to the accompaniment of Vedic mantras
chanted by learned brahmanas. While thus being bathed, the goddess of fortune
maintained her original style, with a lotus flower in her hand.

समुद्रः पीतकौशेयवाससी
समुपाहरत्।

वरुणः स्रजं वैजयन्तीं
मधुना मत्तषट्पदाम्॥१५॥

The ocean, which is the
source of all valuable jewels, supplied the upper and lower portions of a
yellow silken garment. The predominating deity of the water, Varuna, presented
flower garlands surrounded by six-legged bumblebees, drunken with honey.

भूषणानि विचित्राणि
विश्वकर्मा प्रजापतिः।

हारं सरस्वती पद्ममजो
नागाश्च कुण्डले ॥१६॥

Viswakarma, one of the prajapatis,
supplied varieties of decorated ornaments.
The goddess of learning, Sarasvati, supplied a necklace, Lord Brahma
supplied a lotus flower, and the inhabitants of Nagaloka supplied
earrings.

ततः कृतस्वस्त्ययनोत्पलस्रजं

नदद्द्विरेफां परिगृह्य पाणिना।l

चचाल वक्त्रं सुकपोलकुण्डलं

सव्रीडहासं दधती सुशोभनम् ॥१७॥

Thereafter, mother
Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, having been properly celebrated with an
auspicious ritualistic ceremony, began
moving about, holding in her hand a garland of lotus flowers, which were
surrounded by humming bumblebees.
Smiling with shyness, her cheeks decorated by her earrings, she looked
extremely beautiful.

स्तनद्वयं चातिकृशोदरी
समं

निरन्तरं चन्दनकुङ्कुमोक्षितम्।

ततस्ततो नूपुरवल्गुशिञ्जितै-

र्विसर्पती हेमलतेव सा बभौ॥१८॥

Her two breasts, which
were symmetrical and nicely situated, were covered with sandalwood paste and kumkum
powder, and her waist was very thin. As
she walked here and there, her ankle bells jingling softly, she appeared like a
creeper of gold.

विलोकयन्ती निरवद्यमात्मनः।

पदं ध्रुवं चाव्यभिचारिसद्गुणम्।

गन्धर्वयक्षासुरसिद्धचारण-

त्रैविष्टपेयादिषु नान्यविन्दत॥१९॥

While walking among the
Gandharvas, Yakshas, asuras, siddhas, Charanas and denizens of heaven,
Lakshmidevi, the goddess of fortune, was scrutinizingly examining them, but she
could not find anyone naturally endowed with all good qualities. None of them was devoid of faults, and
therefore she could not take shelter of any of them.

नूनं तपो यस्य न मन्युनिर्जयो

ज्ञानं क्वचित् तच्च न सङ्गवर्जितम्।

कश्चिन्महांस्तस्य
न कामनिर्जयः

स ईश्वरः किं परतोव्यपाश्रयः॥२०॥

The goddess of fortune,
examining the assembly, thought in this way: Someone who has undergone great
austerity has not yet conquered anger.
Someone possesses knowledge, but he has not conquered material
desires. Someone is a very great
personality but he cannot conquer lusty desires. Even a great personality
depends on something else. How, then, can he be the supreme controller?

धर्मः क्वचित् तत्र
न भूतसौहृदं

त्यागः क्वचित् तत्र न मुक्तिकारणम्।

वीर्यं न पुंसोऽस्त्यजवेगनिष्कृतं

न हि द्वितीयो गुणसङ्गवर्जितः ॥२१॥

Someone may possess full
knowledge of religion (dharma) but still not be kind to all living
entities. In someone, whether human or
demigod, there may be renunciation, but that is not the cause of
liberation. Someone may possess great
power and yet be unable to check the power of eternal time. Someone else may have renounced attachment to
the material world, yet he cannot compare to the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Therefore, no one is completely
freed from the influence of the material modes of nature.

क्वचिच्चिरायुर्न हि
शीलमङ्गलं

क्वचित् तदप्यस्ति न वेद्यमायुषः ।

यत्रोभयं कुत्र च सोऽप्यमङ्गलः

सुमङ्गलः कश्च न काङ्क्षते हि माम्
॥२२॥

Someone may have longevity
but not have auspiciousness or good behaviour.
Someone may have both auspiciousness and good behaviour, but the
duration of his life is not fixed.
Although such demigods as Siva have eternal life, they have inauspicious
habits like living in crematorium. And
even if others are well qualified in all respects, they have no strong desire
for me.

एवं विमृश्याव्यभिचारिसद्गुणैर्वरं

निजैकाश्रयतयागुणाश्रयम्।

वव्रे वरं सर्वगुणैरपेक्षितं

रमा मुकुन्दं निरपेक्षमीप्सितम्
॥२३॥

Sukadeva Goswami
continued: In this way, after full deliberation, the goddess of fortune
accepted Mukunda as her husband because although He is independent and not in
want of her, He possesses all transcendental qualities and mystic powers and is
therefore the most desirable.

तस्यांसदेश उशतीं नवकञ्जमालां

माद्यन्मधुव्रतवरूथगिरोपघुष्टाम्।

तस्थौ निधाय निकटे
तदुरः स्वधाम

सव्रीडहासविकसन्नयनेन याता ।२४॥

Approaching the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the goddess of fortune placed upon His shoulders the
garland of newly grown lotus flowers, which was surounded by humming bumblebees
searching for honey. Then, expecting to
get a place on the bosom of the Lord, she remained standing by His side, her
face smiling in shyness.

तस्याः श्रियस्त्रिजगतो
जनको जनन्या

वक्षोनिवासमकरोत् परमं विभूतेः।

श्रीः स्वाः प्रजाः
सकरुणेन निरीक्षणेन

यत्र स्थितैधयत साधिपतींस्त्रिलोकान्
॥२५॥

The Supreme Personality of
Godhead is the father of the three worlds, and His bosom is the residence of
mother Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, the proprietor of all opulences. The goddess of fortune, by her favourable and
merciful glance, can increase the opulence of the three worlds, along with
their inhabitants and their directors, the demigods.

शङ्खतूर्यमृदङ्गानां
वादित्राणां पृथुः स्वनः।

देवानुगानां सस्त्रीणां
नृत्यतां गायतामभूत् ॥२६॥

The inhabitants of
Gandharvaloka and Chandraloka then took the opportunity to play their musical
instruments, such as conchshells, bugles and drums. They began dancing and singing along with
their wives.

ब्रह्मरुद्राङ्गिरोमुख्याः
सर्वे विश्वसृजो विभुम्।

ईडिरेऽवितथैर्मन्त्रैस्तल्लिङ्गैः
पुष्पवर्षिणः॥२७॥

Lord Brahma, Lord Siva,
the great sage Angira, and similar directors of universal management showered
flowers and chanted mantras indicating the transcendental glories of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.

श्रिया विलोकिता देवाः
सप्रजापतयः प्रजाः।

शीलादिगुणसंपन्ना लेभिरे
निर्वृतिं पराम् ॥२८॥

All the demigods, along
with the prajapatis and their descendants, being blessed by Goddess Lakshmi’s
glance upon them, were immediately enriched with good behaviour and transcendental
qualities. Thus they were very much satisfied.

निःसत्त्वा लोलुपा
राजन् निरुद्योगा गतत्रपाः।

यदा चोपेक्षिता लक्ष्म्या
बभूवुर्दैत्यदानवाः ॥२९॥

O
King, because of being neglected by the goddess of fortune, the demons and
Rakshasas were depressed, bewildered and frustrated, and thus they became
shameless.